Black and White Cake
Black and White Cake. An all time kid favourite among our family and friends. A easy one-bowl chocolate cake covered in plenty of fluffy marshmallow frosting is sure to please kids of all ages.
Originally published on March 27, 2008
2019 UPDATE
After almost 12 years on Rock Recipes and many dozens of cake recipes later, one of our earliest recipes, this Black and White Cake still remains in the top 5 cake recipes ever.
Take a look at the link at the bottom of the page to see all of our top 25 most baked cakes of the last decade.
It's still a kid favourite at our house, even though those kids have now grown into hungry teenagers. This recipe also makes outstanding cupcakes for any celebration but are always particularly popular at school parties.
I generally bake this cake in round 8 inch pans or 9 inch Aluminum Cake Pans but the recipe can also be made as a sheet cake in a 9 x 13 baking pan
Depending on whether you use glass or not, the 9x13 size could take a few minutes longer. Just let the toothpick test be the final judge.
Get creative with your cake!
There is probably no counting the number of Black and White Cakes I have made over the years.
Most often these days, as was the case yesterday, my kids like to make them on their own with a little help from dear old dad in preparing the frosting.
This particular one was prepared for dessert at dinner last night by my daughter Olivia, 10 and her cousin Taylor, 11.
The Dice Cake version shown was an idea from the 8 year old mind of my son Noah who let me help him make it a few weeks back as a treat for the staff at his school for Teacher Appreciation Week.
As you can imagine, a chocolate scratch cake with a marshmallow type frosting is a BIG kid favourite.
It has been made for countless kid parties where even crumbs are hard to come by afterward. More than a few adults I know love it as much as the kids. When it comes to standard recipes at our house, this one is unquestionably in the top 10.
Consider yourself a cake lover?
We've put together a collection of the 25 Most Baked Cakes of the last 12 years on Rock Recipes. You are sure to find several to love.
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Black and White Cake
Black and White Cake is an all time kid favorite among our family and friends. A easy one-bowl chocolate cake covered in plenty of fluffy marshmallow frosting is sure to please kids of all ages.
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoon . baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup soured milk
- 1 cup brewed black coffee, (or prepare a single cup of instant coffee)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the marshmallow frosting
- 4 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ½ cup corn syrup
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
To make the cake batter
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.
- Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 or 9 inch cake pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To prepare the Marshmallow Frosting
- In a small saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup and water.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer or when a teaspoonful of the mixture dropped into ice water forms a soft ball that holds its shape when cool.
- Whip the egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla extract to soft peaks in a large bowl.
- With the mixer on medium high speed, slowly begin to pour the sugar syrup down the side of the egg white bowl in a thin continuous stream.
- Continue to whip the frosting until it forms stiff peaks.
- Frost your cake immediately with this frosting while it is still slightly warm as it is easier to spread smoothly than if allowed to cool completely.
Notes
October 2017 update: I've updated the recipe with this note because so many people ask about the coffee in this recipe. The recipe calls for a cup of brewed coffee, meaning prepared as you would drink it. It does NOT mean a cup of ground coffee or a cup of instant coffee granules either; although I always smile when someone asks because my late friend Anne did that once, bless her soul. Let's just say her husband wasn't impressed!
A little coffee accentuates the flavour of chocolate but if you like, you can just substitute and additional cup of milk for the coffee. It's not a problem.
Recommended Products
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
gAmount Per Serving Calories 336Saturated Fat 6gCholesterol 21mgSodium 187mgCarbohydrates 64gFiber 1gSugar 49gProtein 4g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
That frosting looks amazing. Have been looking for a recipe like that so thanks 🙂 Do you know if I can use normal syrup instead? I have never seen corn syrup where I live.
Where do you live, Tim-Buck-Too? Just kidding. All grocery stores should have corn syrup.
In Ireland, use Golden syrup for light corn syrup and treacle for dark corn syrup. Golden Syrup will actually probably taste and work even better than our corn syrup.
Corn syrup is a bottled syrup often called Karo syrup in parts of the US, which is actually a brand name. It contains corn syrup, salt & vanilla. If you can't find it, a substitute would be to prepare a simple syrup & add vanilla & dash of salt. Pancake syrup would not be a good substitute as it is made with brown sugar & the flavor would be different. Molasses is too strongly flavored to use as a substitute also.
Where do you live? It is readily available in any supermarket in North America. I've never had trouble finding it. I'm not sure what you mean by "normal" syrup.
I think this is the recipe that my mother used. I have looked high and low in her recipe books, but could not find it. Today I think I have found it. Thanks for sharing ! Have a great day!
This is the only chocolate cake(not with the frosting) my family ever made. We call it a Black Magic cake and usually do a buttercream frosting. Best chocolate cake, ever!!
Barry does 1 cup of black coffee mean mixed with water or 1 cup of ground coffee?
A cup of black coffee as you would drink it.
I live in Ireland 🙂 Not sure what the syrup around here is made of but it does not say corn syrup on the bottle. I assume its just normal sugar and water.
Sugar and water will be too thin. Our "corn" syrup is clear
and VERY thick and viscous like molasses. We find ours
at the store where waffle and pancake syrup are sold next
to the maple syrups.
As long as it's not flavoured it should be fine. Do you refer to treacle as syrup over there? Light treacle might do the trick.
what do you mean as "sour milk"? is this referring to butter milk?
I'll use sour cream
Hi, I love this recipe, my mama makes one similar but adds marshmallows to it. Do you ever have trouble with the sugar not dissolving and a bit of gritty feel to it? If so, what can you do to prevent that.
Thanks,
Jane,
What a great frosting recipe! I can't wait to try it tomorrow. Would it be any good for piping on cupcakes? Or would it not keep it's shape when warm and be to difficult to pipe once cool? The chocolate cake recipe is one I have used for awhile, apparently Ina Garten knows of it too :p and I agree, it is the best around. I too have a hard time resisting the midnight call of any leftovers.
You've got the spreading consistency nailed but I have had some sucess piping with a large round tip onto cupcakes. Experiment and let us know how it goes.
Hi Barry, is the syrup "light" or clear colored corn syrup?
Secondly, how long can the cake stay out at room temperature (will the frosting wilt)?
Thanks!
Doesn't really matter if its light or clear. The frosting is pretty stable so will stay ok at room temperature.
Can I add food coloting to the frosting?
Thank you!
Sure.
Do you have to use cream of tartar for the icing?
Cream of tartar helps stabilize beaten egg whites but the recipe will probably be fine without it. I'd definitely give it a try.
Thanks so much Barry, I'll let you know how it turns out. I am so excited about making this cake! I am a passionate baker!
When you say sour milk? What are you referring to? I live in Newfoundland as well...could you give me a brand?? And when you say black coffee...do you mean it has to be mixed with water first, or do you use it directly, just the coffee straight from the can?
Just add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to the milk to sour it.
Make a pot of coffee and use a cup of that. Just a cup of plain black coffee is all you need.